And so the trend continues. We just told you about the new offerings on Carnival Magic by celebrity chef Guy Fieri and now MSC Cruises announces a partnership with world famous Pacific Rim chef Roy Yamaguchi. Earlier this year Princess introduced a new restaurant on the Ruby by star chef Curtis Stone. But debatably no two chefs are as well know for their Asian-style cuisine as Hawaii’s Yamaguchi and Master Chef Nobu (who created Silk Road for Crystal Cruises). Any foodie familiar Yamaguchi’s cuisine (especially at his Hawaii restaurant) will agree he is one spectacular chef and passengers going on an MSC cruise are very lucky for the chance to sample his creations. Yamaguchi will first introduce a specialty fusion, pan-Asian restaurant on board the cruise line’s new next-generation ship, MSC Seaside – known as “the ship that follows the sun.” Today’s (March 16) announcement further demonstrates the trend to quality over quantity now spreading through the cruise industry as well as MSC Cruises’ continuing commitment to feed its passengers well with existing partnerships other notables such as Carlo Cracco, Jean-Philippe Maury and Jereme Leung. “Our heritage lies in the Mediterranean, where a passion for food is a way of life and we seek to bring this to life every day for our guests with always fresh, authentic food of the highest quality,” said Gianni Onorato, chief executive officer of MSC Cruises. “The enjoyment of good food plays an integral role in creating unforgettable emotions as well as enabling our guests to discover new cultures and tastes, whilst cruising on one of our beautiful ships.”

“The dining experience on an MSC Cruises ship is distinguished by the extensive variety of Mediterranean and international cuisines and wide range of dining formats available,” said Onorato. “The four top chefs whom we currently work with are known as leading global experts in their respective cuisines and each one brings world-class fine dining expertise, elevating the dining experience for our guests to a new level.”“We provide a wide range of specialty restaurants to give our guests a wide and varied choice during their cruise,” continued Onorato. “We are developing exciting new dining options onboard MSC Seaside, with nine eateries featuring cuisines from all around the world including a pan-Asian restaurant in partnership with Roy Yamaguchi, a luxury fish restaurant with a chef’s table and a world class international steak house where the beef will dry age on board.”

Chef Yamaguchi will have a dedicated presence and specialty restaurant onboard MSC Cruises MSC Seaside when she makes her bow in December 2017 and sail year-round from Miami to the Caribbean. As part of the partnership, Chef Yamaguchi will be hands-on creating the recipes and menus; selecting the chinaware to enhance the dishes; choosing music to create the right ambiance; deciding the perfect wines to complement the food; and even picking out the paper stock for the menus.

In addition to featuring a variety of Chef Yamaguchi’s gourmet pan-Asian style dishes, the restaurant will include a sushi, sashimi, and raw bar, as well as a space with teppanyaki grills in which guests will be able to enjoy a variety of cooking styles – ranging from traditional Japanese to Malaysian to Thai Korean – and be entertained by skilled teppanyaki chefs as their meal is cooked in front of them. An international culinary visionary and the creator of Hawaiian fusion cuisine, Yamaguchi intertwines his Japanese heritage with love for the freshest ingredients. He is the founder of 30 Roy’s Restaurants, including 28 in the United States, one in Guam and one in Okinawa, Japan. His numerous accolades include the prestigious James Beard Award. Yamaguchi has also hosted six seasons of the television show “Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi,” seen in more than 60 countries. He has also published four culinary cookbooks.